Greater New Orleans

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan released a survey Thursday (June 12) that he says should most Louisiana schools are not prepared to administer an online test associated with Common Core.

A Louisiana teachers union says most teachers that took an online survey don't feel state schools are prepared to administer a Common Core test electronically. Their buildings don't have the necessary technology or their students lack the computer skills.

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers surveyed 1,011 educators statewide online and found that 87 percent of them said their schools did not have the technological resources to administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test -- known as the PARCC -- online. The union said the survey was not scientific, but did reflect a widespread worry about whether the standardized test could be administered properly.

"That the majority of teachers responded with concern is a red flag," said Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

The teachers survey information was released as Gov. Bobby Jindal is contemplating how to get Louisiana out of using the PARCC test and Common Core. Jindal put pressure on the Louisiana Legislature to scrap the PARCC in particular, but lawmakers refused to do so during their legislative session that ended earlier this month.

Now, the Governor has said he will act unilaterally to remove the state from the test, though its not clear how he can do so. Louisiana's Education Superintendent John White and state school board still back the use of Common Core and PARCC. They said the governor would need their approval to scrap the test in Louisiana.

State school board president Chas Roemer said the teachers union survey was not much more than a last-ditch effort to get the state away from PARCC and Common Core.

"I don't give the survey much credence whatsoever," said Roemer.

When it comes to online testing, the Department of Education said Louisiana has made great strides in getting schools up to speed. At least 76 percent of schools meet the state's minimum technology requirements and 79 percent of schools have the minimum amount of bandwidth needed to support online testing, said officials.

"High schools in Louisiana have taken online tests for years, and our state's schools continue to make great progress in equipping themselves with the latest technology," said Barry Landry, spokesman for the state education department in a statement.

Not all of the students will be taking the PARCC on a computer either. Students in grades three and four will be taking the test with paper and pencil. Those middle schools that aren't read to administer an online test will be able to give a paper-based version of the assessment as well, said Landry.

But the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and others countered that Louisiana's minimum technology requirements are not adequate. The number of computers for every student should be far lower than it is to make sure the testing goes smoothly, they said.

In order to get schools to a lower and more acceptable ratio, school districts would have to spend a lot of money on new technology, said Scott Richard, executive director of the Louisiana School Boards Association.

"Where are they going to find the money?" said Richard, who has criticized for PARCC for a few months.

There is also a great disparity regarding technology access between school districts. Some students have regular access to computers. Others don't have much experience with technology at all, even if their school meets the minimum technology requirements.

Monaghan said he is concerned the PARCC test results could reflect this disparity in technology. Students may perform worse on assessments in certain schools because they don't have as much access to computers, he said.

Both Monaghan and Richard said they tried to raise concerns about Louisiana schools' technology readiness during the state legislative session, when lawmakers were contemplating whether to keep PARCC or not.

But their concerns were overshadowed by other PARCC criticisms, like worries about federal government intrusion and President Barack Obama's involvement with the test. Lawmakers were somewhat turned off by the nationally-based arguments for getting out of PARCC and eventually sided with those who said Louisiana should stick with the test.